In general, inkjet printing machines or printers include at least one printhead that ejects drops or jets of liquid ink onto a recording or image forming media. A phase change ink jet printer employs phase change inks that are solid at ambient temperature, but transition to a liquid phase at an elevated temperature. The molten ink can then be ejected by a printhead directly onto an image receiving substrate, or indirectly onto an intermediate imaging member before the image is transferred to an image receiving substrate. Once the ejected ink is on the image receiving substrate, the ink droplets quickly solidify to form an image. It can be helpful to maintain a relatively constant temperature across the printhead during operation of the printer. Thermally conductive metallic plates have been used as heat spreaders for inkjet printheads.